Whisper of the Soul
by LindseyXZ
Summary: Motoko is sent to investigate a small town in Tokyo due to disturbances that have been reported to the Prime Minister which brings on a concern to potential terrorism. And during this new case, she and the rest of Section 9 discover more than what they thought was a logical possibility. (Sexual themes. Eventual romance.)
1. Chapter 1: The Mysterious Town

**Author's notes:**

Hello everyone! Well, this is my second story I am working on, and I am posting it to see what you all think! Now as far as constructive criticism goes, I am okay with it as long as it does not get out of hand. So if you do happen to review, please be courteous about it and keep it in within moderation.

Okay, now that we got that out of the way, there are some things about this story I want everyone to follow up on. Bleach will be placed in the GITS timeline; the year 2034 after the GITS SAC Solid State Society. And Bleach will play out the same for the most part in the original canon of the Arrancar Arc, but there will be changes. (Of course.)

I don't know how far I want to go with this, but this for Bleach is mostly likely an AU as it stands. Bleach itself has far too much going on, and I would have prefered that Bleach had ended after Aizen's defeat; even though questions would be left unanswered about character back stories. But I am sure lots of you would disagree with me. But I find Tite Kubo is trying to drag his manga out for longer than what I was initially meant to be. However, my perspective may very well change if the manga gets better with less wasted dialog.

Also, if anyone wants to know how it is possible for the characters from GITS to see and interact with Soul Reapers and Hollows, it's like this. Since the characters from GITS are cyborgs, their senses will be vastly different from a normal human's sense of perception, that include anyone who is "all natural" but with a cyber brain. This will also include Soul Reapers. Because let's face it, Soul Reapers won't have the capabilities that a cyborg would both mentally and physically, unless they became cyberized themselves. Just as cyborgs would not have the capabilities as Soul Reapers or Hollows. So at this point, everything in terms of that is moot depending on the situation that each character comes to face.

My reason for stating all this is because my previous story that involved Dragon Ball Z was criticized a little too much when it came to power comparison. So that is why I want to put this all up here for you to see before you start reading.

That's all I wanted to get across, everyone. I hope you all enjoy what I have to share!

* * *

**Chapter One: The Mysterious Town**

* * *

It had not even been a few months since she came back to Section Nine, and these questions still continued to plague her mind, despite the fact that she felt she had everything she needed right at section. But still, what was she missing from her life? A friend? A special someone maybe? Or something else entirely? What was the sea of information not able to offer her?

This was just a regular day for Motoko; heading to the Prime Minister's office at every beck-and-call was one of her personal favorites. And to simply watching her Chief of command take requests like an obedient lap dog was a sight all on its own. She noted, with a small smile, how much Kyabuki was exactly the Chief's type of woman. That thought never changed since Kyabuki had taken office.

Not too much had happened since the Solid State investigation, and maybe what Kyabuki called them in for would be more interesting this time around. And speaking of which, she saw Kyabuki coming into the office from another briefing as her and Chief Aramaki waited patiently. From the look of the Prime Minister, she could tell stress loomed over the woman's shoulders as she saw the woman take her seat on her leather chair in front of her desk that had an oak-stained finish on it.

Kyabuki then dropped her papers on her desk and placed her hand on her forehead as she had let out a breath of frustration, before forcing her head back up again to have her eyes meet the two occupants of the office in a formal manner.

"I apologize for keeping you both waiting."

Aramaki smiled lightly at the woman's sentiment for concern, "It's nothing to be concerned with, ma'am. It is bound to happen when much is placed on your shoulders."

"If only that were part of the problem," Kyabuki replied back before clasping her hands together, "But on to more important matters. I called you here because there is something I would like your team to look into for me."

Aramaki gave the woman a look of curiosity, "What would that be, ma'am?"

"There have been incidents taking place in Karakura Town on the west side of Tokyo that has been classified as possible terrorism. Satoru Takumi, the Mayor, had contacted me personally after he had received a wide range of panic and complaints from the local residents who reported destruction within their property. And the local authorities have tried everything they could to find any culprits. But so far, they have not yielded any results to shed light on the matter. And as such, he requested if I could call someone in to investigate the town," she then placed her finger on her chin in thought for moment, "But what I don't understand is why the police have so many problems regarding the situation. He was not clear on that. However, according to statistics of this country, the residents of Karakura town are not known for much prosthetic usage, including any form of cyber-brain technology," she uttered.

Then she collected her thoughts once more when she glanced at Aramaki, "I told him I would call in Public Security Section Nine to have one of your members meet with him."

Aramaki gave a nod thereafter, "I understand. I will have Section Nine look into the matter and inform you of any further developments."

She lowered her head and closed her stress filled eyes, "Thank you for your understanding. That will be all."

"Alright then. Good day ma'am," he replied as both he and Motoko respectively gave a curt nod of their heads before leaving her office.

* * *

While driving back to headquarters to spread the news, there was one thing she could not shake from her mind. From the way the Prime Minster talked briefly of the situation, it had similarly reminded her of the terrorist situation led by Kuze during the refugee uprising. But that in itself was a whole bigger scenario in comparison to that of a small town crisis.

"Chief, do you think that this case Kyabuki wants us to look into has a similar ring to that of the refugee uprising case that Kuze led more than two years ago? If these presumed terrorists have managed to evade the local authority's every attempt at stopping them, perhaps there is another individual who is following his ideology?"

The chief gave a nod, "It might be a possibility that someone is carrying out the same ideology as he did."

"Well, given with the way these disturbances continue, and with the way the police have not pinned down a single suspect, I can only guess that as the only probability," she replied.

"I understand your point by assuming that to be the case. However, there is no sense in assuming what the case might be about before an investigation is made," he concluded.

She glanced from the corner of her eye, "You're right."

* * *

She and the chief had arrived back to headquarters and made their way over to the briefing room where Batou, Saito, Boruma, and Ishikawa waited sitting on the sofas. Last but not least, Togusa; who had taken the position as the section's leader.

To Motoko, it felt like the good old days before she had left the section to follow up on her own investigations. But she asked herself; what was the purpose for leaving in the first place? Maybe she just wanted to see how far she could get with her investigations. But now, she did not know why she left at all.

"Damn. What took so long? What did the Prime Minister make you rush over to her office for?" Batou spoke up inquisitively.

"The Prime Minister has received a request from the Mayor of Karakura town in Tokyo, about possible terrorism with in the area. So far, the local authorities have not found any suspects, and that is why the Prime Minister recommended us to the mayor," the Chief began.

Motoko walked toward the sofas and sat down, and began to focus her train of thought on the ensuing case that was to be at hand, while the chief stood beside the large display monitor that was in front of them.

"Is there any reason why these terrorists as you say are doing this? Also, what kind of terrorist acts are being committed?" Togusa inquired, "It just seems strange that it has been only three years since the refugee incident."

"That's a big shocker," Batou said comically with a smile as he raised his eyebrow, "Seems to be like that with almost any case. There is always bound to be some kind of terrorism, or some case the local cops can't solve. Good thing it never stops, or we'd be out of business."

"Unfortunately, we have no idea what these disturbances are being caused for. But what we do know, is that there have been damages to public and residential areas of that town, which has caused the residents to be in a state of panic," the Chief clarified.

"That's interesting. I didn't find any headlines on the net about the subject before this came up," Ishikawa said with interest that this had escaped his attention.

"Well in light of this new case, I will have the Major go and meet with the Mayor; Satoru Takumi," he said before turning his focus onto Motoko, "See if you can get more intel on the situation. Afterward, you can do a brief sweep in the most likely areas of the town. And then we'll take matters from there. Also Ishikawa and Boruma, I want you to check the net for more news on Karakura Town's status."

"Roger," everyone in unison said before standing up and filing outside the door to the hallway.

As everyone left to do their respective duties, Motoko and Batou walked side by side behind Togusa. Motoko could clearly see that he seemed to be deep in thought from the way his shoulders looked rigid.

"What's up, Togusa?" She brought up in a casual manner.

Togusa looked behind himself with a questionable expression, before he stopped walking down the hallway, "It's nothing," he said bluntly.

She casually placed her hand on her side with an inquiring gaze, "Well, since I came back, I noticed you have been acting strangely."

Batou then grinned humorously, "I noticed that too. Major, I think since you came back, Togusa's been staying on his toes lately."

She seemed mildly surprised thereafter, "Come on now, Togusa. Don't tell me I'm getting in the way of your development as leader by being here?"

"Well the thing is..." he began as he collected his thoughts, "It's just that you were unique when you were the leader. I feel I sometimes pale in comparison."

As flattered as she was to hear that, she felt the need to nip the way he was acting in a bud, "No one is telling you to be me. You have to be yourself when carrying out missions, or otherwise you will fail them," then she smiled lightly with encouragement, "From what I have seen of you so far with you being the new leader, I say you are doing a bang-up job. So don't be so hard on yourself."

Togusa then smiled graciously himself, "Thanks for saying so, Major. It just seems weird with you being back is all. But in a good way."

"I'm feeling that also," she said with mirth.

Batou chuckled afterward, "What? Does it make you want to retire again?"

She turned to glance at Batou with a smile, "Well, I haven't actually thought about that yet," she replied to him before walking ahead, "Anyway, I'm off. If I find anything, you and the Chief will be the first to know, Togusa. So make sure you are ready on a moment's notice if there is anything new that comes up."

Togusa gave her a small nod, "Understood, Major," he replied as she left them to their business.

Batou watched her retreating back with a raised brow, "She's still quite commanding, isn't she? And it's only been two years. I figure you would be making the commands, considering you're the leader. Well, at least it's good to know she didn't lose that side of her."

Togusa merely shrugged as he smiled, "That's just how she shows concern for the team."

* * *

By early afternoon, after the few hours it took, she finally made it to Karakura Town. She had left the underground lobby from the train station, and she signaled for a taxi to pull over. When the taxi driver pulled over, she opened the back-right door and got in before closing it again.

"Where to, Miss?" The taxi driver asked.

"To the Mashiba district. Address number 2506," she replied.

As the taxi driver began to drive his way to the Mayor's office, she wondered if there would be anything more she could find out about the disturbances. Or either that she have to spend a few days in the town if the Mayor had nothing more to offer than what was revealed by Kyabuki.

She had passed several shopping outlets from what she could see. From what she could guess, this was Karakura Town's local shopping center. Afterward, she passed a park, and then beyond that was the Mayor's address. The taxi driver to stopped and she handed him a couple bills before getting out to walk down the sidewalk toward an office building.

She made her way up the few steps and opened the glass door before standing in front of a lightly colored wooden desk, waiting for a young woman in her mid-twenties, with light brown hair, and brown eyes. The young lady was busily on the phone and typing on her computer rather quickly.

Once the woman was off the phone, she looked up with a slightly confused expression, "Yes, can I help you?"

"Yes, I am here to see Mister Takumi. I am Major Kusanagi, from Public Security Section Nine," Motoko responded diligently.

The woman secretary smiled with a recognizable understanding, before picking up the phone again, "Right, one moment please."

She dialed a number on the phone and waited for someone to pick up, "Mister Takumi, this woman says she is from Public Security Section Nine," the secretary informed after nodding to the response, then she focused her attention onto Motoko again.

"He is on the second floor in room 205," the woman said.

"Thank you," Motoko replied before heading inside the elevator and going to the second floor of the building.

When she had reached the office room, she saw the door slightly open but instead of walking in, she knocked.

"Come in," she heard a voice from the other side.

When she opened the door, she saw a man in what appeared to be in his mid-forties, with a balded head, wearing a black formal suit and blue tie, sitting in a black leather chair behind a desk with a darker color finish on it.

She looked back to Mister Takumi with a gaze that held inquiry and saw that he smiled with a greeting gesture.

"Please, sit down," he offered.

She accepted the offer and sat down across from him on a brown polyester chair, while placing her one leg over the other as she brushed her hands over her black knee-length skirt before crossing her arms.

"Thank you for coming," he began with an already hopeful look grazing his features, "Prime Minister Kyabuki told me lots about Section Nine and how their service was magnificent when it came to solving difficult crime situations that the police are otherwise not capable of solving."

Well that was an obvious reason to be sure, as she kept her inquisitive gaze.

"The Prime Minister just mentioned to us about the fact that the local police department has not found any suspects yet and that these disturbances still continue," she then gazed at the man with a fixed expression, "Is there anything more you can tell me about the situation? Do you think these acts are carried out by those with a high prosthetics usage?"

The man shook his head as he glanced down to his desk deep in thought for a second before making eye contact with her again, "I can't really say. But I guess that's the case, despite most people in the town have hardly any prosthetics at all. So, there isn't really much to tell. Aside from the fact that these acts take place in residential areas; that being mostly in Mitsumiya, Kinogaya, and Komatsu districts. Whoever is behind this has managed to evade the local authorities every time there has been an issue. It's as though they vanish before anyone can get to the scene. And as things stand, there is not much that can be done. What a pain in the ass this has turned out to be..."

_Vanish? Huh? _That was an interesting word to use she figured. She could see the man was obviously in a state of distress and anxiousness as his brows furrowed together due to the predicament.

"Sorry I can't tell you anything you haven't already heard," he said regretfully.

"That's alright," she replied as she stood up from her chair, "First a sweep of the town will be done to see if we can find any of the perps responsible, and then we'll continue from there. If there are new developments, we will be sure to tell you."

"Alright then, thank you," he responded with a small hopeful smile.

She then left the office. To her, this case was beginning to seem like cat and mouse already judging by the looks of it. But that did not stop her from thinking about the thrill of the chase.

* * *

She had wandered on to the Mitsumiya district to see if she could find anything at all. As she walked through the streets, there was nothing she could see out of the ordinary for the time being.

This didn't make any sense. Why would anyone want to cause disturbances in these small districts to start with if they were not going to state any demands? And why go after such a small town? But more over, this proved to catch her interest in a way of how skillful these perps managed to evade the local authorities' every move. And the other interesting aspect of the town that caught her attention, was that most of the people in this small town did not have any cyber brain implants. Could it be a group of people with not a trace of cybernetics that were behind all this? For all she knew, it could be a cult of some kind. There were a hell of a lot of riddles that were left unanswered.

She passed a few more buildings before she stumbled upon a small shop that gave her a peculiar feeling about something, but she could not understand what it was that drew her to it.

_Urahara Shop? _Her mind became fixated onto that small shop, so she decided to enter through the doors that were left ajar with a curiosity that loomed over her. Upon coming into the store, she saw shelves that were lined up with packaged foods and other goods.

She then picked up a random package thereafter and began to read the contents of it, just for the sake of curiosity.

"Hello? Can I help you, miss?"

It was then her attention was then directed toward a man with light-blond messy hair, with gray eyes that were covered over by a shadow. He donned a greeting smile at her.

She smiled due to his welcoming assistance, "No, I was just browsing," she replied.

"Well okay then. Call me if you need anything," he offered with his right hand behind his head as he went into the back of the shop from whence he came.

She placed the package back onto the shelf where she found it, and was about to walk out the front doors.

"Ururu! Get over here!"

Motoko turned to look where the yelling had come from, and she saw a boy with red hair, in a white shirt with blue shorts that were folded upwards on the ends. The kid certainly looked as though he had a foul attitude.

"Coming Jinta!"

She then saw a girl with black hair done up in pig tails, with a long bang going down the middle of her face. She wore a white shirt with a pink polka skirt that reached down to her knees.

The girl ran to the boy just in time to get hit across on top the head by the broom he was holding.

"Ah!" She cried.

"I told you that you have to get this cleaned up!" the boy demanded with the broom in front of her face.

Motoko glared sternly at the boy, "Hey! You don't have to go and do that to her!" She barked.

"Mind your own business lady- Ah!" he gasped as he saw he was picked up by the scruff of his shirt by a large, well-built man. The man wore rectangular glasses, with a white shirt, and a blue apron. His hair was cornrowed, and a large handlebar mustache connected to his sideburns.

"I'm sorry he caused you any trouble, miss," the man said.

"No. It's fine," she replied back.

"That's good. You have a nice day then," he said back to her.

The large built man then brought Jinta to his eye level, "Now, I'm going to find you something else to do," he stated as he began to walk toward the back of the shop.

* * *

Continuing her search on the town, she decided to search the Kinogaya district of Karakura that was near a warehouse district beyond the train tracks that went through the town. But there was something that felt strange about that shop she had been to; it just gave off something that was somewhat suspicious to her. And what of the owner? Perhaps a clue? She did not know what it was, but something just seemed out of place. She would have to remember to keep that place in mind for later.

She passed several blocks more, passing a small convenience store and turned a corner. It was then the air had shifted and she stopped walking. Something was feeling strange now; she could feel tremors in the ground. There was no construction sites around vicinity, that much she was aware of. But what confirmed her suspicions was when she heard a loud, earth shattering roar that echoed for a distance. She ran quickly down several more blocks toward the loud and repetitive roar as the small tremors became more apparent. It was then she saw a girl with black hair and brown eyes, wearing a white shirt, and pink shorts, who appeared frightful while running down the empty street for her life toward her.

And from behind the girl, that was when she saw _it _stomping toward them_..._

* * *

_To Be Concluded._

* * *

I hope that this first chapter worked for you. (And that you must have more.) For those who feel excited, the next chapter is waiting for you! :)


	2. Chapter 2: A Mission Gone Sour

Here's chapter two for all of you excited readers! Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter Two: A Mission Gone Sour**

* * *

With narrowed eyes, the young girl she saw was in fact being chased by the source of the tremors and loud roaring; that source being a creature that had a blue colored body and a white mask. Its size filled the small street as it continued on stomping toward the frightful girl.

_Just what in the Hell is this thing?!_

With a startled guise, Motoko quickly pulled out her nine-mil and fired multiple rounds toward its face. The shots that made punctures into its mask began to bleed out profusely as it stumbled back from the pain.

"Over here!" Motoko ordered as she motioned the girl to come toward her while the monster was momentarily subdued.

Just as the girl finally made her way over, the monster got up again and was running towards them as well. She quickly ripped the side of her skirt so she could have extra mobility and then gave the girl a quick glance, "Get back!"

The girl ran and hid behind the corner of the block and gazed at the confrontation that was happening, fearful of the outcome.

When the creature swung one of its arms at Motoko, she dodged it by jumping overhead and behind it. And just before the monster could react, she quickly jumped up and did a back-flip-kick to its face with all the power she could muster behind it, which sent the monster to the ground, causing the pavement to crack under the pressure.

In that instant, she grabbed another clip from her hand bag and loaded it into her gun as the monster remained unmoving. The moment it started to get up to attack again, she fired her gun repeatedly until the mask had broken. She then backed away quickly as its form turned into a puff of black ash and faded entirely from the scene, leaving not a trace of itself.

She stood where the monster disappeared, shocked and thrown by her discovery. She knew from then on, that this case was going to be sour. And worst still, the scary thought was that there were possibly more of those things lurking about in the town.

"Hey, kid," she spoke up and directed her attention toward the girl with raised eyebrows as she was surprised to see two new strangers with her. One being a young female, with green hair and hazel eyes who had bags of groceries in her hands. She wore a white body suit, with orange gloves and a scarf. The other being an older looking, large rotund man, who wore an olive-green tuxedo, and a yellow bow tie. He had a pink mustache and hair, with a crossbow design on the top.

"Who are you?" Motoko spoke up again as she held her gun firmly in her hand.

They both looked her way with confusion present on their faces.

"Do not worry, we mean no harm," the large man stated calmly.

The young female then put her hand on her hip, "We just came here to kill that Hollow. But it seems like you took care of that, which is no fun at all," she said in a childish manner before sighing and putting her bags on the ground.

Motoko raised her brows slightly at that._ Hollow? That was what attacked that girl? But why? __And where did it come from?_

But her serious visage still did not waver as she kept her eyes on the two newcomers. She took notice to the young woman pull what appeared to be a sword out of an orange sheath, and watched as she held the hilt toward the girl's head. The girl backed away fearfully and shook her head.

With that action, Motoko pointed her gun at the green haired one, "Drop it now."

"Wait! We are not going to hurt her. Please trust us," the large man said with his hands in front of himself.

The woman with green hair looked clueless, "I'm not going to hurt her... Seesh," she said sourly. Then she smiled at the girl, "I'm just going to send you to a place so those monsters can't come after you. You don't have to be afraid anymore. Okay?"

The girl nodded hesitantly as the hilt on the katana touched the girl's forehead, causing her to fade into a black butterfly to form in her place before flying off into the distant sky.

Motoko looked on with utter stupefaction on her face as she lowered her weapon slightly. She remained as such for a moment before recollecting herself as she gazed at two strangers with disbelief, taking in all that had happened in that fleeting moment, "What the hell did you do to her? And what on Earth is going on? And..." she turned to point where the monster had been last seen, "what was that thing?"

The large man turned to look at Motoko with seriousness on his features, "What she did to that girl was a Konso which sent the girl to Soul Society so she can find peace. And the monster you fought was a Hollow, which was a spirit," he clarified.

_Konso? Soul Society? Spirit?_

She would have thought the man was insane if she had not come face to face with that monster or the girl. What had she stumbled into? This case went right out of the window in terms of logic now. But even in her own enlightenment, she was compelled to find out more.

"Just what is happening here?" She asked incredulously.

"You know... You don't seem to be from around here," the green haired one spoke up with a raised brow as she went to pick up her grocery bags.

And they were? She blinked at them considering they both looked like circus performers, judging from the way they both presented themselves.

The large man nodded, "I understand you have questions. Maybe I can explain them better for you if you come with us."

"Hachi! What will the others say? We're suppose to keep our hideout a secret, remember?" the young woman said in a hushed tone.

That piqued Motoko's curiosity when the term _hideout _was mentioned, "Hold on," she interjected, "We only just met, and now you assume you can trust _me_?"

The larger man smiled, "I don't find there is a need to be overly suspicious. I also imagine that our goals are mutual."

To her, the man seemed overly trusting to those he would meet out of the blue, or either that his smile was just a put-on. But she could not tell which. In either case, it would prove pointless to beat around the bush needlessly, especially now as things were. This was better than finding nothing at all.

"Our goals are mutual, huh?" she questioned precariously. His response was nothing as he kept his passive gaze on her, "Alright fine. I'll hear you out then," she agreed, but she was still skeptical.

He gave a nod thereafter, "Then it's unanimous. But first, how about we introduce ourselves? My name is Hachigen Ushōda, but people call me by my nickname; Hachi."

The young woman beside him raised her hand, "Mine's Mashiro Kuna!" She said in a bubbly child-like fashion.

Motoko paused for a moment, "Motoko Kusanagi."

The one named Hachi lowered his head out of respect, "Pleased to meet you, miss Kusanagi," he then gave a hand gesture to follow him, "If you would please follow us, I will tell you what you need to know about what's going on."

She found these two to be very peculiar, especially the big one. It was suspicious. She wondered why this man would tell her anything at all, let alone let her follow him to this _hideout._

* * *

They had walked passed the train tracks to an old rundown warehousing district. Why would they lead her here in the first place? How could they just meet her for the first time and not be so concerned of what she might do if they gave her information about what was going on? As she kept up with them, she concluded that these two were indeed strange.

"So why are you allowing me to follow you?" Motoko spoke up curiously.

The one named Hachigen looked behind his back, "You said you wanted to know what you were fighting, didn't you?"

She began to scrutinize why this man and the young woman would be open to the idea of trusting those they would just meet, "Yes I did. But why do you have to lead me here?"

Mashiro gave a frown at that, "Well I don't like it either. But Hachi thinks you're okay. But I wonder what will the others will think?"

Hachi looked from the corner of his eye, "Perhaps they will not make a big matter out of it. And I think it's best if I were to tell this lady about what Hollows are where there are less people."

Motoko then casually raised a brow at their interesting exchange, "What I don't understand is why you would let me follow you. You could have just as easily told me what that thing was instead of procrastinating like this."

The man put on a bright smile, "My, aren't you impatient?"

"Then why? Are you trying to force me into becoming one of your partners?" She tried again with an awkward smile.

He glanced over to her, with surprise as to what she was insinuating of him, "Oh, no such thing Miss. You can leave any time you like," he said with a comforting gesture.

As they kept on moving, there was one large warehouse that they were walking to in particular. It looked as though it had not been used for years. And it became apparent to her that she heard a lot of ruckuses coming from the inside, which she could quite clearly discern that a couple people or more were arguing behind the closed metal door. That was obvious when Mashiro opened the door to reveal the other people inside the warehouse.

"We're here, guys! And we got some bento!" the one with green hair announced.

"Let's eat up!" a man in a green jogging suit, with a spiked Afro, and black shades said happily. Beside him a man with long wavy blonde hair, in a black suit with a thigh length jacket gave a small smile at the other ones' enthusiasm.

"How the hell can I train with that shit?! And stop calling me a baldy, you bucktoothed loser!" a teenaged boy yelled. The teenaged boy had orange hair, and was dressed in what looked like very old-fashioned garments that were black.

As Motoko entered through the door, she saw a young girl with blonde pigtails, and her attire was a red jogging suit with flip-flops who the teenager was arguing with. The girl was holding a man who was dressed in a standard school uniform, had brown eyes, with jaw length blonde hair by the scruff of the shirt, who was on the ground.

She saw two others as well. She saw one young girl who wore a long-sleeved school uniform, who had turquoise eyes with red oval shaped glasses, braided black hair, and who looked as though she was reading an adult magazine.

And then there was a gruff looking man, who appeared tall and muscular, with light gray hair, brown eyes and piercings on his left eyebrow and left ear.

From this standpoint, the whole situation was indeed an unusual one already. Were they refugees of some kind? And in that moment of thinking so, they all froze and focused their eyes on her; even the two who were fighting with each other.

"There is quite the commotion here. You are all quite a motley crew of people aren't you?" She said as she took in the sight of everyone who was in the warehouse with a gaze that resembled interest about them.

The man with muscular features then stood up, with a face that resembled an irritable scowl, "What the hell Mashiro?! Why would you let a human follow you?"

Motoko blinked bemusedly. Human? Why would this guy use such a term? Well considering the earlier events, there was more than just normal humans in this town; that was a given already.

Mashiro then put on a childish frown, "Don't blame me, Kensei! Ask Hachi!"

"Yes, I was one who let her follow us. Just as me and Mashiro were coming back from the store, we saw this young lady fighting a Hollow. So I suppose you can classify her as a guest," Hachi informed.

"This cute thing was fighting a Hollow?" the man with jaw length blonde hair asked with a sly smile before he was assaulted by a sandal.

Motoko ignored the others and turned to look at the man named Hachi, "You said you would tell me what Hollows are. Isn't that right?" she inquired.

The girl with pigtails came up to Hachi, and pointed her finger at Motoko, "Hachi, what's the deal? Why are you telling this baldy-bimbo anything that ain't her own cotton pickin' business?"

Hachi smiled briefly for a second, "Now try to be nice, Hiyori. Everyone, this young lady's name is Motoko."

Motoko stared at these people perplexed. What were they trying to do anyway? She then placed her hands on sides, waiting for them to stop fooling around, "Look, all I want to know is what's going on in this town and why. And I think you can give me some answers."

"Hey Shinji, what do we do with this mess?" The one named Hiyori spoke up.

Shinji, shook his head, "How do you expect me to know?" then he glanced over to Motoko, "So, are you like some kind of investigator or somethin'?"

She gave him a stern look afterward, "I'm asking the questions here."

It was then the man with muscular features and silver hair came walking toward her with a frown present, "You aren't going to get your answers here. So just get lost."

She crossed her arms, "Well, if that's how you want to play it, I'll just call my friends at the local police department and have them place you all under arrest for contempt. It seems you are involved in the disturbances of this town one way or another. So I'm sure they would be happy to interrogate a handful of small-time thugs. And if you actually happen to be rogue refugees, then that will make things even more interesting."

He raised a brow, obviously irritated, "You're comparing us to those people? You sure got nerve."

"I wouldn't be surprised if you are."

The man gritted his teeth thereafter as he made an attempt to stomp toward her. While doing so, she unbuckled the clip to her nine-mil gun behind her back as the others in the warehouse observed with apprehension.

Shinji jumped in between them and put his hands out in front of him when he saw she had her hand on the gun, prepared to draw it out, "Whoa, whoa! Calm down lady. We're not rogue refugees or a bunch of thugs. Okay? We'll tell ya a little of what's going on," then he turned over to glance at the muscular man with a nervous smile and laughter, "Kensei, knock it off. I really don't want her pulling a gun out on us."

A moment passed and the one addressed as Kensei begrudgingly walked away thereafter and went back to taking his place on one of the crates.

Then Shinji glanced toward Hachi with a frown, "Thanks big time for this, Hachi..."

Hachi's features resembled a look of guilt, "It was impossible to avoid. She said she wanted to know what Hollows are. And so I-"

"And you let her follow you? It could have been avoided if you minded your own business," he interrupted as he gave a sigh before glancing back to the lady, "Well Hachi, this is your problem, I'll let you deal with her. But first you gotta help us do business with Ichigo here," Shinji said while glancing at the orange haired teenager, who apparently stood there watching the exchange between the group with interest.

She stared at the orange haired teen as his odd attire caught her attention, "What are you people trying to do here anyway?"

Hiyori then came up to her with an angry visage, "What do you think we are doing?" She began before pointing her finger at the orange top, "We are training his sorry ass! If it weren't for him being such a dumb ass, then we'd be getting somewhere!"

"Quit calling me dumb ass snaggle tooth!" Ichigo argued back.

"I'll call you dumb ass any time I like, dumb ass!"

Motoko continued to watch the two squabble with mild amusement as Mashiro handed out lunch boxes to everyone of the group.

"Stop whining and keep running till you drop!" Hiyori yelled as she came running after him with a treadmill before hucking it at his face.

Ichigo grasped his chin after it bounced off of him, "You snot-nosed brat!"

"Ichigo try to relax," Shinij began as he came in between them, "The stupid Hiyori treadmill trainer-"

"It's super!" Hiyori cut in, but Shinji ignored her.

"-Is the basis for the training you will be in for."

"Basis?" Ichigo queried.

"We determine what level of training you are able to do based on how long you can keep running on the treadmill," Shinji clarified.

The orange head looked at Shinji dumbfounded, "What do you mean by level?"

Motoko continued to stay silent with perplexity. Just what exactly was this kid being trained for? She also saw that muscled brute still was glaring at her from behind. She understood he was suspicious of her, but did he have to keep doing that? The others in the warehouse seemed to take her presence better.

"Just listen to Hiyori. Quit being such a baby and keep running on her senseless treadmill trainer," Shinji said.

"For the final time it's the Hiyori Super trainer, dumb ass!" Hiyori complained again.

"After about three days, you'll collapse from exhaustion," Shinji continued before grinning, "We break you down then we build up by teaching you how to control the Hollow transformation..."

The term _Hollow_ and _transformation_ weighed heavily on Motoko's mind after what was said by the skinny neck-length blonde haired man. They were going to turn this boy into some kind of monster like that one she fought not long ago? But before coming to assumptions, she listened more on their conversation.

"Are you kidding me? That's a joke!" The orange top declared as he pointed to the treadmill, "You can forget about wasting that much time! I can run on that damn thing for almost a week before getting tired! I get it. That stupid machine is meant to drain me of all my spiritual pressure. So what? You want to see how much spirit energy I have by running before I collapse," the teen concluded.

The one named Shinji just stayed silent with a frown. But to Motoko, this was becoming insane. From the way both of them talked of this, it was like a whole new world to her that had yet to be tapped. And the boy clearly did not look transparent like those ghosts that were in the movies at all. Just what in the world was this that was going on? Was this a hack? If so, then it was a pretty good one. She looked over to see Hachi and was hoping that he would give her some viable answers soon about all this.

"You idiot!" The orange top flared up again angrily, drawing her attention back to the two of them again, "With the spirit energy I have now, I could run for nearly a week straight on that thing; there's no point testing me like this. Just teach me how to control my hollowfication damn it! I don't have time to waste on this shit! I cannot afford to mess around playing with you Visoreds!"

"Shut your big mouth!" Shinji yelled with frustration.

Motoko crossed her arms, _So that is what these guys are called?_

Everyone was silent for a time as she glanced at all the occupants in the warehouse in a state of bemusement. Were they a group of people of some kind? Her thoughts on all this were deterred when she still could feel that muscular brute still staring at her with too much scrutiny for her liking.

"You don't have time huh? Well that's something coming from someone who doesn't even know how long it takes for Hogyoku to awaken." Shinji spoke up.

Motoko noticed shock on the boy's face. But she did not have clue on how to go about this to know what they were even talking about to start with.

"Wait. Hold on, what did you say?" Ichigo questioned.

Shinji's glare deepened, "I said stop arguing when you don't know a thing about hollowfication or the Hogyoku!"

"What is this? How do you know about any of that?" Ichigo questioned again while in his stupor.

"I know all about it. The hyongoku, the Arrancars; even Aizen Souske. I have known about them for many, many years," Shinij revealed.

Motoko saw Shinji's grin appear again. After that something strange happened; to her surprise, she saw him move instantaneously right in front of Ichigo before outstretching his hand in front of the teen's face. She heard Shinji speak of that kid being a soul reaper and then the mentioning of shikai, and bankai. She did not know what that was either. But she could see it was of importance as the teen seemed petrified with shock. It was then Ichigo fell to the floor with his eyes open and unresponsive.

Motoko ran up to Shinji when she saw the teen on the floor unconscious, "Hey!" She barked before jumping from the same floor as Shinji did earlier.

The man with the Afro and green jumpsuit raised his eyebrows from beneath his shades, "That's some jump for a human," he remarked.

Kensei also had to raise his brow as well as that stunt roused his suspicions.

Shinji glanced from the corner of his eye, "What do you want now? Nice jump by the way. Are you into gymnastics?"

She paused as she looked at him with a fixed but stern expression. These guys had no idea that she was fully prosthetic did they? But instead she chose to focus on what was going on presently, "What... Did you do to him?" Motoko questioned.

Shinji glanced from the corner of his eye with a grin, "It's fine lady, he's only sleeping right now. When Hachi is finished making his barrier, he'll tell you all about what's going on in this town," he then turned to see large man, "Okay, Hachi, you know what to do. Give us a two layered force-field."

"Alright," Hachi replied as he slapped his hands together.

Motoko felt the air change in density and she found all this shocking when she saw the orange haired teen get carried by the man in the green jumpsuit with an Afro haircut. What were they going to do with this kid?

_*Batou? Togusa? Can you hear me?* _She tried to get through, but all she got was static when she tried to connect with any of her COM channels on the net. She was definitely on her own now. But for as long as she played it relatively cool, she was sure no harm would come to her and this group might be willing to throw her a bone regarding more information about what was going on in this town.

To her shock, the ground began to shake suddenly as a rift in the concrete formed into passageway to an underground compartment. The group began to walk down the steps; the last one being Kensei keeping a precarious gaze on her as she followed them.

When they have reached the end of the dark stairway, she had let out a small gasp. The underground room she walked into was not a normal underground room at all, but rather a small canyon with small peaks all around the desert surface and a blue sky. Was this some sort of holographic image?

"What is this? Is there a holographic generator in this room?" She spoke up with curiosity.

Shinji put on a clueless face, "Is it a wha?"

"Plus, why are you being so cooperative now?" She continued to question. His response to her was nothing, as the one in the green jogging suit dumped the unconscious teenager on the dirt surface.

Shinji then looked over to Hachi, "Hachi, set up a barrier here too. And seal off Ichigo's body."

"What?" Came Hachi as he stared at Shinji perplexed and surprised.

Shinji merely frowned, "Don't "what" me," he mimicked, "Just do it. And then you can fix this mess you started with this chick," that he glanced at Motoko, "Look lady, you just caught us on a bad day is all. But even when Hachi tells you about what's happening, nobody's going to believe you. Normal folk will think you're crazy."

Her expression became stern, "That will be for me to decide."

"Alright. I'm just saying you're wasting your time," He pointed out casually as he raised his arms.

Her response was nothing as she held a stern face, but her features also presented objection to his claims. He didn't seem worried at all about what they were doing either even if she were to tell anybody.

"Hachi, do it," Shinji spoke up again.

Large man nodded, "Alright then..."

He put his hands together, almost as if he was praying to Motoko's gaze and curiosity. She noticed with surprise that the wind then started to pick up around him.

"Wall of iron sand, tower of the shaven priest, glow incandescent iron, tranquil and soundless to the end..." Hachi chanted.

To her shock, as he chanted, she saw orbs of light surround the man's hands as he raised his arms and lowered them again as he went into a crouching position.

"Bakudo number 75, Gochutekkan!"

Orbs of light appeared around orange top's unconscious form which morphed into metallic–like pillars bound by chains. After that, a box–like barrier formed and surrounded a good radius of the grounds.

It was not a moment later that the ground began to tremble and the wind started to pick up again. And in that instant, Motoko could discern movement from the teenager's once unconscious body when a red striped white mask began to form on his face, as his eyes turned git black with yellow irises.

Was any of this real? After fighting that _thing_ earlier, was _it_ even real? Was this a hack?

...Or was everything she that perceived up to this point reality?

* * *

**_To Be Concluded._**

* * *

If you have read up to this point, I am gracious and hope you review! We all like reviews, don't we? ;P

Now as far as posting regularly, it will not be possible. And depending on how busy I am (will be) and what inspires me, my posting schedules will be irregular. (Please don't shoot me!) But I will see what I can do to keep this story going. I will just be happy if I happen to ensnare a few readers who happen to like my current progress with this story!

Ja mata ne! (Japanese for see you later!)


	3. Chapter 3: Nuisances And Revelations

Hello again everyone! Now this is my longest chapter yet, I had much to add that I thought I was never going to get this done with my CIS course and the double work load that came with it! Anyway, so here you are!

I would like to also give credit to CteelKyo, who took her time to look over my writing and the generous offer of some suggestions she gave me for this chapter.

Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 3: Nuisances... Revelations and... More Nuisances**

* * *

Everything that was happening during this moment was that of insanity. From a short distance away from her, behind a barrier of some kind, there was this kid undergoing some sort of monstrous transformation and she still had yet to know what a hollow even was; more so anything at this point. The ground was shaking and the wind picked up, causing debris in its wake. She could feel the wind on her face and just to be sure this was real, she crouched to the ground to feel the surface with her hand. From her own introspective, she definitely could feel tactile responses when she touched the dirt surface. She was certain that she felt nothing slip past her four layers or defense shields. So it could not have been a hack. But after seeing all this, it raised her suspicions whether she had been hacked or not.

"It's coming," Shinji spoke up as everyone became aware of Ichigo's predicament.

She stood up again looking expectantly, and witnessed the chained metal bars that held the orange haired teenager down come together with a clang before crumbling and giving way, with him rising to stand up and sporting a mask on his face. It was then she saw the girl with a long sleeved school uniform making her way towards the barrier with her sword.

"Hachigen, can you open up please? I'm on duty today, so I'll go first," the girl said.

"All right, Lisa," he replied as he waved his glowing finger.

To Motoko's surprise and curiosity, an entryway formed in the barrier.

"Try not to kill him, Lisa," Shinji brought up.

She stopped walking toward the barrier for second and looked back at Shinji, "Sure, if he doesn't kill me first."

As Motoko saw Lisa enter the barrier, she also noticed the kid pick up his sword off the ground to prepare to attack her. Lisa prepared for the onslaught.

It was then Motoko saw Shinji walked toward her with a grin on his face, "So, how ya holding up?"

She could hardly see what there was to grin about as she stared at him with such intensity, "Are you serious? How am I holding up?" Her face became stern, "This is clearly a situation I won't understand until I get answers about what's going on."

His grin faded as gave her a bit of a frown, "Well you're in luck," he pointed out as he gestured toward the large man in the green suit, "Hachi is now available."

She walked past Shinji and made her way toward Hachi, all the while observing the fight between Lisa and that kid. When she finally made her way to Hachi, she placed both her hands to her sides, "So, are you going to tell me what I need to know?"

He nodded to her, "Yes, I'll tell you now. I just wish this was under better circumstances," he said with regret in his tone.

That was what she was saying all along as her eyes prodded his for information, "All I want to know is what these hollows are and what's causing them. Then I'll go."

Hachi lowered his head in understanding, "I'm afraid it's not as simple as that. And you won't be able to go anytime soon."

She raised her eyebrow due to that statement, "Why's that? You said earlier I can leave anytime I like."

"I know. But with Ichigo in his current state, we cannot risk him escaping. So I must keep the barriers up until he has gained control over his hollow. Which means you won't be able to leave right away," he relented.

She crossed her arms, "All right, that seems fair enough," she turned her head for second and caught a glance of that muscled man keeping a constant stare on her. Normally she would have liked the attention by someone with sharp features such as his, but with the current situation, it was nerve-racking.

She turned her focus back to Hachi, with a look that inquired him to speak. He nodded once more, "Hollows, as you see them, are born from human souls. Souls that had a strong attachment to the previous life they once had. And it could be for various reasons. Eventually over time, the once human soul that does not pass on to soul Society stays too long in the human world after their death, becomes a corrupt spirit. And they go on to devouring the souls of both living and dead humans."

Her eyes narrowed slightly due to this new information. So all these creatures were once human? Talk about beyond a logical standpoint.

"Okay," she affirmed coming to this new realization; but could not believe what she was about to say, "But are there other types of spirits that exist?"

He gave a nod, "Yes there are. Hollows are not the only ones that exist, there are soul reapers too."

She raised her eyebrows at that, "And soul reapers are?"

"They are the balancers. They exterminate hollows that do evil deeds in the world of the living and ensure the safe crossing of other souls," he responded.

She crossed her arms and lowered her head in thought, "Now I get it. So the soul reapers are the good guys. And the hollows are the bad ones. And when you say real world, you make it sound as though you're not from here so to speak," she conjectured, causing him to look toward the battle field again.

Now she understood why the investigators couldn't find a trace. But if that was the case, how was she able to see them at all? She brought herself back from her thoughts and looked back to Hachi again, "How am I able to see them though? The reason why I was called here to investigate this town was because there is a lot of disturbances happening. And I think I know why I was called. Because all those in on the police force in this town cannot see what's right in front of them."

He gave another nod due to her speculation, "It is true. Most humans cannot see hollows or soul reapers, but there are some that can. And you are one of them."

She glanced at Hachi for a moment considering the notion. But the only thing was, is that she was not exactly human herself in terms of being all-natural.

"Hachi, time to switch out now."

She turned her head as she was brought out of her thoughts again about the whole situation by Kensei when he spoke to Hachi. And much to her dismay, he also gave her another scrutinizing glare.

"Yes, sir," Hachi complied before waving his finger again and letting Kensei into the barrier.

Motoko looked over to the woman named Lisa who looked as though she was at her limits. And just before Ichigo could attack Lisa again, Motoko saw Kensei step in just in time to give him an elbow to the stomach, sending Ichigo flying into the dirt before handing her the watch he had.

She saw Lisa walkout of the enclosed space, putting her sword in its sheath as Kensei began to take on Ichigo with his concealed weapon that was like a hunter's blade. She also saw with interest of how Lisa was breathing heavily after her encounter with the kid.

"How long of a break do I get?" She heard Lisa ask Shinji.

"If all of us rotate on time, it's ten minutes times eight people. So that will be eighty minutes in total," Shinji calculated.

"It isn't that long you moron! You can't count her into the equation. So it's only seven," Hiyori butted in, correcting him.

He frowned and sighed, "Ugh, fine. Ten minutes times seven is seventy minutes, okay?"

Motoko then glanced at Hachi again and he seemed nervous, "Hey, what's the matter?"

"I thought I was only meant to keep the barriers up," he muttered with some apprehension.

She raised her shoulders with a blank stare, "Well that's unfortunate. Anyway, thank you for the insight," she said before walking away toward Shinji and Lisa.

"That must have been some fight, huh?" She spoke to Lisa, getting the young woman's attention.

"Yeah, that Ichigo is pretty tough. Kensei better be careful out there," she said as she took in slight breaths.

Motoko watched the battle for a moment longer as Ichigo's body was going through some metamorphosis. She took notice how the kid's chest was covered in some white substance and his feet look liked two prongs that were also white. With each and every strike the kid made, Kensei easily dodged before making a strike to the kid's shoulder with his knife. And in that instant, she took notice that the shoulder that was cut instantly got covered over by that same white substance. To her surprise, Ichigo came to attack again but was blown away by some sort of exploding wave that came from the man's hands. Then she turned around with her focus obstructed as Shinji came to approach her.

"So, are you satisfied with the answers Hachi gave you?" Shinji asked.

"Somewhat. But I still have more questions regarding what you're doing with this kid," she began as she thought how she was going to tell the others at headquarters about this illogical situation. And she was still wondering if everything she was experiencing was nothing more than a delusion.

He gave her a grin, "Maybe you didn't hear me, but I said we are helping him to control the hollow inside him. You know, when all is said and done, what will you do? I am pretty sure whoever you have to report back to will think you are nuts."

She closed her eyes at the notion, "Perhaps you are right. But that still doesn't change the fact that the residents of this town are aware of the disturbances. What you are telling me still is not going to change what's going on; it all still correlates to terrorism."

He then turned his back on her with his hands in his pockets, "Well you do what you want. I don't care."

It was not too long afterward that Kensei had switched places with Rose. He talked briefly with Shinji and then he walked past Motoko, still giving her the same scrutinizing stare since she had come to the warehouse.

* * *

An hour had almost passed since this started, and she was in thought of how she was going to break this to her team members back at Section Nine, as she continued to watch this group of people switch amongst each other every ten minutes to fight that kid Ichigo. And on top of that, that muscled brute still had not let up at staring at her intently.

She finally had enough and walked toward him with a disdainful look on her face, "Is there something about me you find interesting?"

"Yes," he replied with an implacable visage that showed he was not about to stop scrutinizing her.

"Do you want to tell me?" She questioned with a calm tone.

"No," he replied with a thin-lip.

Then she gave him a small glare, "Then stop staring at me like that before I _take_ your eyes out."

The man's mouth parted as he was seemingly affronted by her declaration, and he was about to say something.

"Actually Kensei, I have to agree with her. That is getting annoying. Stop it, would ya? I know you freak out easily when it comes to newcomers, but you don't have to do it constantly," Shinji butted in before the man could say anything.

"I'm not freaking out!" Kensei retorted with a vile glare.

Shinji just glanced back over his shoulder with a blank stare, "That's very convincing..."

It was then Mashiro ran up to him, "Yeah. Stop being so stupid," she taunted.

Motoko could have sworn that she saw a vein swelling on his forehead; it was discernible that he was easy to anger. To her, not only was that girl Mashiro immature as a toddler, she could see that guy was also not far off from that either. Because rather than dealing with things rationally, she could see that he would resort to angry confrontations.

She felt that this was getting nowhere to speak of as yet. There had to be more that she could find out; but the question was, what else could she find and how could she do it? She was still not sure whether or not was nothing more than a delusion generated by a hack.

She saw the man in the green jogging suit fighting the kid next. And the more the man fought, she came to realize that this kid had become completely turned into this monster of white flesh with red stripes, and a tail wagging behind, adorning his new found appearance. The man in the jogging suit seemed to have a difficult time and she came to notice the wound he had on his shoulder.

"Kensei, who took the longest out of all of us to control our hollow?" Lisa spoke up.

Motoko saw that Kensei was holding a watch, and turned his attention to Lisa.

"It was Hiyori at sixty-nine minutes and two seconds," he responded.

"How long has it been now?" Lisa asked him and Kensei went to look at the watch again.

"It has been sixty-eight minutes and forty-four seconds since this started to be precise," Motoko responded without expression as she crossed her arms. They both quickly turned their heads.

Kensei raised an eyebrow of scrutiny again toward her, "She's right on the mark..."

She ignored him this time around as Shinji came toward her.

"So... How did you know that?" Shinji asked curiously.

She stared at all of them with both of her brows raised as they had gazes of curiosity on their faces, "Well... With a cyber brain, that all comes relatively easy," then she paused for a moment, "And you have absolutely no idea what I am talking about, do you?"

She kept her eyes on them with astonishment._ Are these guys for real?_

"Cyber brain? What?" Shinji questioned blankly, "Lady, we don't know what you're into. Do you want to tell us?" Then he turned his face in the other direction, "...Or how about some other time?"

Just then, she saw a beam of red light forming at the tip of the monster's claw and he was pointing at the man in the jogging suit.

Lisa stood up instantly, "That's a Cero! Look out!"

The man in question who was fighting the monster placed his hand over his face.

"Do you think he has to hollowfy?" Mashiro questioned.

"Well, he's not an idiot. That spiritual pressure is too strong," Rose responded with an empty expression.

Motoko looked at the long-haired man in the suit stunned, _Just who are these people? _She came to think as she focused back to the fight that was at hand. She saw that the creature's hardened white skin crack and blood started to leak out as it roared in agony.

"Hachi, get Love out of the barrier quickly!" Hiyori shouted with urgency.

Hachi quickly moved his hands in a specific and precise pattern, which resulted in part of the barrier to open. Love quickly escaped as the creature kept screeching before a blinding light emerged from it, resulting an explosion of energy.

When the dust had cleared, Motoko could still see that same white substance. Parts of what remained of the creature's form was cracked looking. Then she saw it fall off the teenager's body as if it were a second skin before breaking into pieces onto the ground, leaving nothing but a red and white striped mask.

"Do it now, Hachi," Shinji said.

"As you wish," Hachi complied with a snap of his fingers, causing the barrier to collapse entirely.

Motoko saw the teen fall over as the mask fell off hitting the ground as well. It was then Shinji walked toward the teen. She saw that the teen shifted his head to the side. To her, he appeared relieved and more relaxed than before as he clutched onto his sword, and for whatever the reason; she would not know.

* * *

It was for the next hour she had remained among these people, watching Ichigo fight with that girl Hiyori. Ichigo was getting kicked around as she saw him repeatedly make that mask form on his face. He did not appear to be able to keep it on for a lengthy time.

"This is training? What poor way of executing it. I don't see how simply kicking that kid around is going to help him," Motoko uttered quietly to herself as she stood in between Shinji, Hachi, Mashiro, and Kensei.

Shinji who was sitting on the ground glanced behind himself, "You think you know better when you don't know what's really going on yourself? Anyway, I thought would have left now to go report to whoever you have to report to."

She crossed her arms, "I guess I am curious. Besides, since you were so nice to tell me what was going on somewhat, I'll explain why I'm here. The local authorities are having problems pinning down suspects and are presuming terrorists are behind what's happening so, I was sent here to this town to investigate."

"Kinda figured as much. But just you? No one else? Gee, I guess whoever you work for must be really thoughtful," Shinji uttered with sarcasm.

She gazed on toward the sparring match and noticed Ichigo's mask crumbled yet again.

"Four seconds," Kensei indicated as he held the wrist watch in his hand.

Shinji gave a tired expression, "What? Only by that much?"

"So, why are you making the carrot top do this again?" Mashiro spoke up with questioning eyes.

Kensei merely told her it was practice to keep Ichigo's hollow form for a longer period. He then mentioned how she did the same and she said she did not. The man gritted he teeth, calling her a liar but then Shinji mentioned it was true. She taunted him aggravating him more while Hachi tried calming Kensei down.

"So... are all of you people hollows too then?" Motoko asked with suspicion.

Hachi shook his head, "No. Not in the way you are thinking," he paused suddenly and his eyes narrowed and turned his attention toward the stairs.

"What's wrong, Hachi?" Shinji queried.

"We have a problem... Someone just slipped past my force field and is inside the building."

Everyone gave surprised stares. But Motoko could not see what they should be so worried about, especially if it was just one person.

"Is it a soul reaper?" Love asked.

Hachi said it was not possible and that the barrier was something he created when he _became _a Visord. Did he mean that was he something else entirely as these other people were?

Kensei stood up with tension asking if it was like them. Hachi said he did not know in response, saying that rather than breaking the barrier but simply went right through it.

Motoko really found it pointless to talk about it amongst themselves, "Then why don't you stop panicking about it. Why not wait and find out with your own two eyes? It's useless at this point to speculate what it is."

"Spoken like a true commander," Love pointed out.

She raised a brow at him. _If only they knew..._

Kensei gave her a cold stare as a retort and turned away, "Here it comes."

They all waited patiently, keeping their gaze at the stairs anxiously. They soon saw a young teenaged girl with long red hair, a school uniform, and mini-skirt who stood half-way down the stairs. She bore a face of innocence as she took notice to everyone before her.

"A human?" Kensei questioned.

Motoko place her hands on her hips, "You really like stating that, don't you? Why? Do you hate humans for some reason?"

Kensei ignored the comment. But then got annoyed when the girl asked were the restroom was. Lisa told him it was a joke.

"You mentioned a name earlier. Souske Aizen. Who is he?" Motoko questioned Shinji.

"Oh, him. That treacherous bastard. Why don't you ask Urahara?" Shinji suggested, "I'm sorry, but I am tired of all the damn questions."

"Urahara you say? Actually, I believe I met with him today in fact before coming here. He's a shop owner, right? Green attire and messy blond hair?" She queried.

"Well, that's a rough description. But yeah, that's him," the blonde haired confirmed, "Maybe you can ask Orihime there to bring you to see him."

The girl, who was known as Orihime briefly talked with the orange haired teen for a few minutes. Thereafter, Ichigo got up and turned back around with a smile before walking back to Hiyori to train again. Just then, the redheaded girl turned around with a determined gaze and was about to leave toward the stairs.

Motoko then casually walked up to the girl, "Are you going to see Mr. Urahara? Do you mind if I come with you? There are some things I have to ask him."

Orihime gazed up to Motoko with a look of bemusement, but nodded nonetheless, "Sure..."

As both Motoko and Orihime left up the stairway, Shinji kept his eyes on both of them, with a pessimistic frown, "That lady sure was a case, wasn't she?"

Kensei crossed his arms in thought with a tight lipped expression.

* * *

As she and the girl were leaving the abandoned warehouse district, she could not understand why such a girl would be involved in something like this. But then again, all she saw for the most part were kids. While she walked alongside this girl, she determined that the girl hardly looked like any kind of refugee that she had seen before. But the thought that refugees were involved seemed invalid at this point.

It was strange that the Visord would allow her to leave like that. But she supposed they figured she would not be able to prove anything that had been going on the entire time in the town; or what she had witnessed of that kid. But she was going to let them give her the benefit of a doubt and let them believe what they wanted. She knew for a fact that she could not contact the mayor about this; he would think she was insane. But given the situation, even she questioned her sanity and wondered if all she saw today, the people she met, and the bizarre way this day became was nothing more than a hallucination. If this was a hack that was being played on her, then this individual would have to be good as the Puppeteer. She doubted even someone like Aoi; who was posing as the Laughing Man could pull off something as elaborate as this.

Then it suddenly dawned on her. Could it be the Puppeteer? Was this some elaborate scheme of his? And for what reason?

She had let out an internal dismissive breath thereafter. Maybe she was over thinking the possibility that the Puppeteer was involved somehow. But whoever he was, he still left quite an impression on her in terms of his hacking techniques. However, she knew what she felt the entire time, and it felt real. She did not sense anything slip past her defense barriers, so it couldn't have been a hack. But if that really was the case, she would know now why the local cops had troubles making arrests. Because despite they probably had no prosthetics, or that many local residents who had no cyber brain implants in this town, the local cops would still have cyber brains.

Orihime glanced at Motoko with a questionable face, "So, do you know Ichigo? I don't think I have seen you before..."

Motoko stared forward, "No, I don't know the kid. I just came to this town today to conduct an investigation, and I discovered more than just a simple terrorist gig..."

The girl appeared shell-shocked, "You're a cop?"

She was about to reply to the shocked girl, but before she could, a figure had leaped down intercepting their path. Before them was a woman with a long purple hair in a ponytail, with dark skin.

Orihime blinked at the person in front of her, "Yoruichi?"

"Kisuke wants to see you right away. Come with me," the woman said,

"I was planning to go there anyway because..." The girl paused when she caught Yoruichi focus her eyes toward Motoko.

"Orihime, who is this woman?"

The girl merely laughed nervously due to Yoruichi's scrutiny, "Uh... Well, I don't know who she is. But she is a cop from what I heard so far."

Yoruichi blinked due to Orihime's statement, "Really?"

Motoko crossed her arms, "I was at Mr. Urahara's shop earlier today while I was searching for information relating to possible terrorism. But it seems I got more than what I bargained for..."

"Terrorism?" Yoruichi questioned.

Motoko gave a nod to the woman, "Yeah... It seems like the soul reapers and hollows in this town haven't been keeping things low-profile. Which is why the people who have been aware are speculating that there is a possibility for terrorism. That's why I'm here."

"Well, you seem to know some already," Yoruichi remarked.

"Hardly... I don't know why all these incidents are happening, and how this Sōsuke Aizen guy fits into all this. So I want to talk to Mr. Urahara about this," Motoko responded.

Yoruichi's eyes narrowed, "You know of Aizen?" Then she paused, "Actually, never mind... I know where you got your information from. The Visoreds, right?"

Motoko gave a nod, "A man named Shinji briefly mentioned the name and he also mentioned the name Hogyoku. But that information is still too dry. So, if Mr. Urahara can tell me what is going on, in detail, then I can decide what measures should be taken."

"And why should I trust you right off the bat?" Yoruichi queried with suspicion.

"People are already concerned as it is. And you not being compliant only makes you seem to be more of an untrusted suspect as it is. I don't know who this Aizen is, but from what I can assume, he is the enemy and the one behind these _terrorist_ events," Motoko rationalized with a stern expression, "It's in everyone's interest for those who want to strive toward the same thing. Which is stopping this guy, right?" She concluded.

The woman gave Motoko I pessimistic stare, "Fine, I believe you. Come on then," Yoruichi then obliged and she started walking ahead of them.

* * *

The sensation Motoko got was the same as before when she stood in front of the small shop again; just like at that warehouse. There must have been a type of force field here, but it was not as potent as it was at the warehouse. So at worst, she was sure her cyber COM would have interference.

They had made their way to the back of the shop to find a stairway that was pitch dark at the end of it. Orihime went ahead downstairs.

"Urahara is down there," Yoruichi gestured with her hand.

Understanding the gesture, she took slow steps toward the bottom as Yoruichi followed behind her. When she made her way half down, she was stunned to see the same type of grounds just like one at that warehouse.

She saw the girl standing in front of Urahara. He lifted his fan and smiled energetically, "Well hello, you three beautiful ladies. It's been a while, Orihime," then he directed his attention to Motoko, "And it's nice to see you again, miss."

Motoko gave an empty stare, while Orihime gave him a confused expression and did not say anything.

"I have been around these unappealing men for so long now. But I feel a lot better to have women in the work place again," he said as an attempt to flatter.

Yoruichi merely turned her head away, "Is that how it is? You're not seeing me as a woman, huh?"

"I was talking about is the training grounds. Because of your womanly charms, it's constantly nice and cheery in the shop."

She kept her arms crossed, "Whatever."

It was then Motoko heard a rumble from a nearby mountain as debris formed around it.

"What's happening?" Motoko asked as she witnessed and teenager in a pink shirt with a flowery design, with shaggy brown hair, and dark skin. She saw another man with red hair, dressed just as that kid Ichigo was. And he wielded a long weapon that looked like a snake made from bone. She could only presume that he was a soul reaper.

"It's Chad and Renji," Orihime acknowledged with surprise.

"They're being just as noisy as usual. Typical men," Yoruichi uttered with no interest whatsoever.

Orihime looked at Urahara with curiosity, "Mr. Urahara? What is it that you want to talk to me about?" They both stood in silence.

"Well, not too long ago, Rangiku Matsumoto came for a visit," Urahara started as he began to talk of the situation of what was to happen and girl's involvement.

Motoko could see that the girl did not like the fact that she could not fight in this _supposed _battle during winter that was ahead of them. He told her that she was only going to be in the way. The one called Chad was against Urahara's decision, but Motoko knew it would have been for the best. And with that, the redheaded girl ran off.

"Given the situation, I have a proposition for you," Motoko spoke up.

"Hey, who is this woman?" The one with red hair who had tattoos on him questioned.

"I met her in my shop today," Urahara smiled as he instantly brightened again while making eye contact with Motoko, "So what kind of proposition do you have for me?"

To her he seemed not to have care in the world. It was then she gave him a stern look afterward, "This is hardly the time to be blasé about things."

"Kisuke, this woman was at the Visored's hideout and apparently she's a cop," Yoruichi informed.

"I should have known. I met with her in my shop earlier today. And I sort of figured something was up as I don't see new faces that often," Kisuke explained.

"Now then, how about we talk? I can only guess you have a lot to ask me?" Urahara quarried as he started walking up the stairs, which compelled her to follow him.

* * *

Both her, Urahara, and Yoruichi were in a room with a low table and sitting pads on the floor. The man with cornrow hair that she saw from earlier; who was addressed as Tessai, served them all tea and then sat down.

Urahara put his cup down after taking a sip, "So, what do you want to ask?"

"I was sent here to find out what is happening in this town and why. The reason I was sent here was because none of local authorities could not even get a trace of any suspects responsible for the disturbances taking place here. And I finally know why; it's because no one without the ability can see these... things," Motoko stated.

She then crossed her arms, "I fought one of these things today as one of the members of that Visored group witnessed me kill it. Then I was taken to their hideout and heard of this Sōsuke Aizen fellow."

Then her eyes became stern as she gazed into his, "Care to elaborate about this person?"

Urahara gave a sigh, "I figured something like this would happen one day... All right, I guess I can't decline, can I? But this will take a while though..."

Then he gave a wry smile, "You should know that humans like yourself shouldn't involve yourself in stuff like this. You may want to reconsider. You're able to acknowledge spiritual entities, but other than that I don't feel any spiritual pressure coming from you. So I can't see you having any abilities to fight hollows."

Motoko kept her stern gaze and raised a brow at that. She felt his way of telling her this was almost patronizing. Sure, perhaps this was all new to her, but she still had to find a way to resolve the situation.

"You don't say?" She started with a cunning smile, "Wouldn't it be a shame if the cops were to partially figure out what was going on, but not who was exactly behind these problems and you're right in the middle of it. Meanwhile, you have a girl barely more than the age of fifteen involved in this matter... I'm starting to have some ideas already..."

The man had put his hand behind his head in a nervous like gesture as he stuttered, "N-no need to be assertive, miss. Anyway, Orihime is a special case."

Yoruichi, who was standing beside him, gave him and Motoko a dirty look.

Motoko smile at the man's sudden predicament, "I think in this situation, it's acceptable to be assertive," then she smirked, "Okay then fine, humor me. I'm not getting any older."

Urahara and the others blinked after she said that, "Just what do you mean by not getting any older?" He questioned.

Her eyes squinted seriously. It was like all these people she came into contact with had no idea what she was. And meanwhile, there were so many other full-prosthetic users just like herself; weren't these guys in for a surprise then, "You mean not a single one of you can tell?"

Yoruichi crossed her arms, "You mentioned you fought 'that thing' as you put it. I take it was a hollow?"

"Yes," Motoko responded blankly.

Urahara blinked again due to her declaration, "Then how did you fight it?"

After everything that had happened today, she just closed her eyes. Then she looked up to meet his gaze again, "With a gun," she began simply, "And this might come as a surprise to all of you, but I am not an ordinary human; as you say. I have a full prosthetic body."

Urahara's eyes narrowed as his mouth took a small round shape, seemingly enlightened by the revelation, "You mean... You're a cyborg?" Then he adjusted his hat as he quickly sized her up before smiling, "Well miss, I never would have thought you would be... so realistic looking. It's kind of a shocker actually. This technology was relatively new not long ago, but I never would have guessed it would have advanced this much already."

She then gave him a challenging smile, "Thanks for the observation. Now that I have told you something, you tell me something. We can do this all night, it's fine by me."

He waved his hand and smiled with a titch of nervousness due to her assertiveness, "Okay, okay. Where should I begin?"

For the rest of the evening, he was compliant and quite hospitable when he had his assistant offer drinks to her; which she declined for the most part. She figured out why this town was in siege as well, and it turned out that this man; Sōsuke Aizen, was the one pulling the strings behind everything and that the soul reapers were going to go to war against this individual. And that this man carried with him a powerful orb called the Hogyoku. From the way Urarhara spoke of this man, he seemed very devious and cunning, when he began to talk of what that man's plans were; those being of killing the inhabitants of the town. And it was all for the sake of obtaining a key for a pathway to this other realm that existed with a supposed king that currently resided there.

* * *

It was nearing midnight, and she knew now that this was no hack at all. This was reality after all. But she still could not grasp that such possibilities could ever come to exist. She stood at the entrance of the shop as Urahara smiled curtly at her with Yoruichi and Tessai at his side.

"I sure hope that was enough for you to understand what's going on in this town and why," Urahara mentioned.

She glanced back at him with a stern demeanor, "Yes it was. At first, I suspected that this was hack when I came and realized what was going on in this town. But now I know that it isn't that simple now either."

Yoruichi blinked with astonishment, "You can get hacked?"

Urahara shifted his hat on his head, "There is going to be so much to learn about these cyborgs. I wish I had researched on them before..."

"I'll be paying you another visit the day after tomorrow when I go to see those Visored people," Motoko declared.

"May I ask why? Seems like from what I understand, Shinji and others didn't want to say much; aside from Hachigen," Urahara explained with curiosity.

"It doesn't hurt to observe, does it?"

He paused for a moment, "Well, I guess that's up to you."

"Thank you. You have been a big help. With the time you have, decide whether you will want to help further the investigation. Next time I come here I will be with my team members. See you soon," she said.

He waved nervously, "With the way things are turning out, I don't think I'll have a choice... Besides her intentions are clear. She wants to defend this town just as much as we do," he figured as he saw her walking off into the night.

* * *

As she walked toward the busier part of the town where a hotel was located, she came to a decision to postpone contacting the Chief until tomorrow morning regarding the situation. Everything seemed calm now for the meantime. She also had more of a lead now; such a lead she would have never suspected to be even possible.

It was just then she could not help feeling that somebody was following her. She could feel the person literally walking behind her silently; and this person got too close for her comfort seeing as she could not see who was following her. In that instant, she quickly reached for the person's left arm and twisted it enough to subdue him. Then she pushed him with enough force toward the telephone pole that was near them, pressing his face against it, with his arm kept firmly behind his back.

"Argh! Damn it!" He cursed loudly.

She pulled her gun out from underneath her blouse and held it toward the unknown man's head. She paused suddenly as she recognized the muscular man and his light silver hair. Then she had let go of his arm that she held behind his back.

He turned toward her with a fierce expression, "What the hell?!"

She had let out an internal sigh of relief; she kind of had enough excitement for one day, "It's just you. Don't you think it's a bad idea to sneak up on people like that?"

"What the heck is wrong with you?! And what are you?" He shouted again.

"Don't blame me for getting too close. Also, I don't think you are in any position to be asking me what I am when I hardly know what you and your friends are. I don't know whether you're hollows or soul reapers. But that still does not change the fact that you are all suspects in this investigation," she said with not a hint of concern.

The guy just stood there with the same frown and it was starting to get nerve racking watching him do that, "So, why are you following me?" She asked.

"Shinji might take this lightly, but I don't. I just wish Hachi didn't bring you back to the hideout," he replied with a grumble.

She furrowed her brows slightly, her finger still on the trigger, "So what? Did you follow me to try to kill me? Is that it? If that's the case, why didn't you when my back was turned instead of wasting time like that sulking in the shadows?"

He raised his brows bemusedly due to her insinuation, "Kill you?" then he replied with a snarl, "What the heck are you talking about?"

She placed her gun under her blouse again, seeing as he was not going to act on her assumptions, "Well, it might have been just me, but it did seem quite conspicuous at the time. Anyway, what do you want from me?"

He snorted in response, "I want to know your involvement in all this."

"You already know why," she began, "I get you are worried. But I already told you and the others; the local cops in this town have been searching for suspects responsible for the disturbances and have not found a trace of who is behind it. Now I know for the most part why," she replied with minor irateness.

He scowled with his arms crossed, "Worried? As if I would be."

She placed her hands onto her sides, this guy wasn't fooling anyone, "If you weren't, then you wouldn't be stalking me. And if you actually were the culprits, I would have already got the cops involved."

He blinked a few times before he gritted his teeth, "I'm not stalking-"

But before he could finish, she placed her hand up almost gazing tiredly at the man; he had such an immature and fowl mood about him, judging from what she had seen earlier of him. That much she could place.

"As much as I'd love to continue this chat, I prefer not to stand out here until dawn listening to you complain," she said before turning around with a blind eye, and walking away from him, seeing how much closer the bustling lights from the hotel were.

Kensei stood there for a moment perplexed before quickly getting himself together, "Hey!" He stated as he caught up with her.

She stopped and turned back around again, "Stop following me."

He made a face showing that he disagreed, "Not until I get more answers."

"I don't have anymore answers to give you," she proclaimed as she pushed the button on the pole to cross the crosswalk, while he persistently kept in pace with her as they both strutted along to the hotel.

* * *

She stood in front of the sliding doors to the hotel and walked in to observe the lobby as she went toward the register's desk.

"This is a lot nicer than I thought it was going to be," she mused as she took in the decorè momentarily, prior to turning around to see Kensei still behind her.

"Are you going to follow me all the way to my room?" She inquired with some grimace. His response to her was silence with a stern frown.

She gave a sigh due to his persistent behavior as she began to search in her handbag for her credit card to give to the person in charge of the rooms, "I'd like the penthouse suite."

A lady in a green uniform with brown hair and green eyes gave a smile, "The penthouse suite, Ma'am?"

Motoko gave a smile and a nod.

"Wait just one moment please," the lady said as she took the card and swiped it into the card receiver.

Kensei looked at Motoko with interest, "That's quite an expensive room for one night."

She glanced at him with contempt, he seemed unfazed by it too. She had gotten tired of his presence a couple of blocks back. Who was he to decide what was expensive and what was not? It beat staying in a run-down warehouse. A moment later, she turned her attention onto the one who was managing the desk.

The lady came back with a key, "Here is your key. Enjoy your stay," she said while handing the key to her along with her card.

"Thank you, miss," Motoko replied nicely before glancing at Kensei with a sinister, but innocent looking smile, which caused the man to blink, "This is my boyfriend, but I usually don't allow him to make that noticeable in public."

Kensei's eyes narrowed with surprise before his fowl angered expression returned, which had caused the lady at the desk to visibly tremble.

Motoko smiled indifferently at his reaction, "Don't mind him. He's got some anger problems that he is dealing with, but he's doing a lot better than before after going to those group sessions," she said before sending a cheeky smile his way, "Come along, honey," she finished before walking to the elevator.

"Why you..." He clenched his fists as he kept on Motoko's trail, leaving the poor manager at the desk almost petrified.

* * *

Kensei sat on the couch with his arm crossed as he waited for her "five minute" shower which was more like fifth-teen minutes to him as he tapped his arms with his fingers impatiently.

It was then he heard the water stop pouring and heard a click of the door when it opened, and he came to notice Motoko come out of the bathroom with nothing but a black piece of lingerie on and there was next to nothing covering her chest except a portion of the towel that was wrapped behind her neck. Within the time it took him to register all that he saw made him turn away, his face was scarlet red and he gritted his teeth together out of annoyance. Was she testing him?

She looked at him with a leer inquisitive visage, "Why so tense?" She asked with a smug tone.

He did not say anything to her for the slightest of moments. And then soon after he crossed his arms, "Don't you have any self-respect?"

She had put a frown on her face as she took the towel off to reveal her cleavage entirely so she could dry her hair, "Look, I didn't ask for you to follow me here, and I sure as hell didn't ask you to give me a lecture on how I should be properly attired in my own room. If you can't handle how I prefer to walk around, then leave. Just be happy I haven't called security to have you removed."

He kept his face turned away from her with his arms crossed furiously, "I followed you here so I could find out more about your involvement with our fight that's all! I sure as heck did not come here to see a strip show!"

His answer caught her by surprise, and she smiled because of how nervous and intimidated he was at the idea of looking at her. It must have been a long time since he laid eyes on a naked woman, much less had gotten sexual recently, "Well if that's how you are going to describe it, do you like what you see?"

Then she placed her hand on her hip casually, "I figured with the whole angry, punk persona you have, you would have been more than eager for an opportunity like this to relieve some tension. Must have been a long while since you laid eyes on some skin, huh?" She goaded while acting seductively as she payed him back for his annoying persistence.

"_Punk?" _He thought furiously with a vein mark forming on his temple. He turned back around to see her face as he expressed his anger by maniacally grinding his teeth together.

"When's the last time you got laid? You are far too uptight," she said as she made her way over to the bed, pulling over the quilt and covering up with it.

"Shut up," he replied as he turned back away again, seething with anger once more.

She smiled wickedly, "Well, something in your system obviously needs uncorking."

"How the hell you can prance around like nothing at all is distracting," he continued to himself as he faced away, with the faintest scarlet remaining on his features.

_Isn't that sort of the point?_

"Who would have guessed you're such a prude? But if you play your cards right, you might get lucky tonight," she smiled confidently at him, "If you want to that is," she gestured seductively, while pulling her index finger back and forth at him; not to really turn him on but to get under his skin because she knew already that this guy was easy to crack already.

He did not budge. He remained facing the other way, ignoring her. She propped her head up on her hand while on the pillow with the faintest of a smile still lingering. This guy was different. Despite he was tough and appeared alpha-male like, he also seemed reserved as well and apparently had an adequate amount of self control.

_That's interesting... ...Or maybe despite his embarrassment, women aren't his type?_

She laid her head back on the pillow, looking up to the ceiling with a plain look, feeling somewhat dejected, "You and your friends already knew that I was going to see Mr. Urahara, because I wanted to know more about this Aizen guy. Or did you not hear the first time? I'm trying to solve the same problem you are dealing with apparently. So what else do you want? I mean aside from following me here, and throwing a temper-tantrum like a twelve-year-old with anger issues?"

He turned his head to her with that angered driven visage of his. Then he calmed down just enough to speak clearly, "I don't trust you or whoever you work for."

"Then don't," she replied carelessly before putting her elbow on the bed to support her as she leaned on it with a stern stare, "But that still is not stopping what's on my agenda. You can act pent up as much as you like about not trusting me," then she laid her head back down on the pillow before digressing, "Anyway, Mr. Urahara was nice enough to fill me in on what's going on here with this Sōsuke Aizen fellow who is apparently pulling the strings which from what I understand, is bound to bring a war."

She saw from the corner of her eye that he sat with his arms crossed in a defiant manner, "Do you actually think that the people in this town would be blissfully unaware of all this? Because if you do, then that's awfully shortsighted of you and anyone else involved in this who thinks that way."

She saw that he still had yet to respond to her at all. Was he just going to sit on that couch and watch her sleep all night and still be suspicious of her?

"So are you just going to sit there all night and watch me sleep?" She inquired with an intrigued gaze.

He directed a mean face toward her that suggested otherwise.

She had put on another smile and lifted her quilt to reveal her cleavage again, "There's plenty of room, you know..."

He turned back around with a scowl, which made her raise her eyebrow yet again, "I thought you had a thing for me. You didn't have a problem staring at me all day earlier. What changed?"

It was then he stood up and stomped toward the front door. And with an angry gesture, he roughly turned the knob to open it.

"You know... It's good you followed me. You can tell your friends for me that I'll be there to see them tomorrow; and I'll be bringing others with me. So don't try anything stupid," she spoke up before he could leave.

He gave her another defiant glare before he walked out, slamming the door behind him shut, causing the wall to visibly tremble.

She blinked toward the door that had been slammed, and came to the conclusion that after all the permanent frowns and glares, the guy had some issues for sure.

But she decided not to think too much of him and his problems, as she had much more important things to be concerned with. She wondered what the outcome was going to be when she goes to notify the others. However, for now, she was going to need some time for all of this new information to sink in.

* * *

It was morning when she walked back to the warehouse. And before she got too close, she figured she should get in contact with the Chief before the interference were to set in with her cyber COM.

_*Chief?* _She called.

_*Major? What is it? How you found anything yet?*_

_*Yes I did. But I need the others here to see what is going on. If I tried to explain, you would not believe me if I tried. I'll be in an abandoned warehouse district.*_

_*I'll have everyone prepare to leave on the tilt-rotor to your location.*_

_*And have them bring one Tachikoma.* _

_*Just what are you planning, Major?*_

_*Nothing yet. Just trust me on this.*_

_*Very well. I expect a full report on this when it is due.*_

_*Roger.*_

That's if the report could even be plausible, she internally thought as she came to see Shinji and Kensei standing in front of the warehouse that them and their friends occupied. This was all going to be an eye opener for her comrades at section; that much she could count on.

* * *

_**To Be Concluded.**_

* * *

I sure hope this was able to satisfy your craving until next time! I'll have lot of time to write, but as I said it depends on how inspired I am and how busy I am. Man, I pray I did not re-hash too much... ^^;

I will be very grateful if you review! Give your thoughts on the progress of this story! I'm all ears! Thank you for reading!


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